The Palmetto Cyber Defense Competition (PCDC) is staged each spring by volunteers from SPAWAR in collaboration with the South Carolina Lowcountry Chapter of the Armed Forces Communications Electronics Association (AFCEA).

The goal of the event, started in 2013, is to energize middle and high schools, colleges, and their students to focus on the development of technical skills in the area of networking and cyber security that will help in preparations for exciting careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).

This year’s PCDC event was held April 8th at Trident Technical College.

Eight teams of six members each operate a live network and protect it from real hackers with the help of a SPAWAR mentor

Mentors work with students in the areas of networking, risk mitigation and operating systems

Eric Holmi won 1st place in the high school PCDC-CTF individual high school competition! The following Wando HS students competed in thePCDC Team and PCDC-CTF Individual (Computer Forensics) competition:

WHS PCDC Team

Noah Wright

Matthew Pitts

Hunter Ross

Morrison Baldwin

Alex Emory

Taylor Horst

WHS CTF Competitors

Justice Davis

Eric Holmi

And, this year’s event also included middle school students for the first time. Middle school students got a chance to see the event up close, meet professionals from supporting organizations, and participate in their own interactive activities.

Check out these pictures of our participating middle school students in action from the following schools:

Cario Middle School

CE Williams Middle School

Military Magnet Academy

Buist Academy

Laing Middle School

Thanks to all the volunteers that made this event possible again this year, especially SPAWAR volunteerss and AFCEA members, and to Trident Technical College for hosting! Thanks to ECPI University for supporting the teachers that chaperoned this event the Saturday before spring break! Read more about the event here on the PDCD website and in the excellent Charleston Regional Business Journal article.

Over 100 students from throughout Charleston recently competed in the 2017 SeaPerch Charleston Challenge at the Danny Jones Pool complex in North Charleston.

Teams from local high and middle schools designed underwater robots and competed with them in various challenges. Students were also judged on their poster and presentation skills, and an overall composite score determined the winner of the event for both middle and high school age students.

Local schools competing included:

Buist Academy MS

C.E.Williams MS for the Creative and Scientific Arts

Charleston Math and Science Charter School

Laing MS of Science and Technology

North Charleston HS

Summerville HS

Wando HS

West Ashley HS

Mr. Jonathan Zucker delivered an inspiring keynote message before the competition began. He reminded students about the vast amounts of the seafloor that remain unexplored, and the potential discoveries that await mankind as we perfect our underwater exploration equipment.

West Ashley High School brought home the overall 1st place trophy for the high schools division.

Students from Laing Middle School were the overall winner in the middle school division.

This event was made possible thanks to countless volunteer hours. Special thanks to the following list of leading sponsors of this year’s Charleston SeaPerch event!

SPAWAR

Little Caesars

Charleston Scuba

STEM Centers SC

NOAA

Homegrown Hospitality

City of North Charleston – Recreation Department

Charleston County School District Science Department, and many others!

CCSD K-12 Science Curriculum Specialist Rodney Moore led the planning efforts and day of event coordination for this event.Thanks to EV Bell, Marine Education Specialist with SC SeaGrant Consortium for her remarks as closing speaker at the event!

FINAL RESULTS

Middle School Division: Overall winner to Nationals Laing MS Team # 6

Engineering Notebook

1st- Laing Ms #6

2nd- Buist MS # 13

3rd Laing MS # 5

Obstacle Course

1st- Laing MS #6

2nd Buist MS #13

3rd Buist MS #21

Puzzle Challenge

1st- Buist #21

2nd tie Buist MS #21, Laing MS #6

High School Division over all winner to Nationals West Ashley HS Team #17

Over 130 students from throughout Charleston competed in the 2016 SeaPerch Charleston Challenge.

Teams from local high and middle schools designed underwater robots and competed with them in various challenges. Students were also judged on their poster and presentation skills, and an overall composite score determined the winner of the event.

August 11, 2015 – Mt. Pleasant, SC – Seacoast Church graciously provided the meeting space for the back to school professional development for CTE teachers on Tuesday. With ample parking, a large space with tables and chairs provided, and plenty of rooms for break-out sessions, the location was ideal.

The day began with a keynote speech from new CCSD Superintendent Dr. Gerrita Postlewait. She shared her passion for Career and Technology Education and answered a number of questions from teachers.

Two local business partners also shared their support for CTE teachers – Brad Davis with Rick Hendrick Automotive Group and Jim Hirni with Anchor Sign company. Both professionals talked about their company’s critical workforce needs and offered to assist as needed to ensure students are ready to maximize the wonderful career opportunities available in the Charleston region.

After the morning plenary session, teachers cycled through 4 breakout rooms with presentations from the CTE Support Team members on CTE Data, Work-based Learning, Student Learning Objective plans, and many other important topics. CTE Director Ginger Reijners’ session was an overall update on the factors that will impact CTE this academic year.

Teachers enjoyed round table discussions over lunch from Chic-fil-A and wear treated to 5 Minute Foot Rubs thanks to the generous support of Anchor Sign!

After lunch, Robin Willis from the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce shared a presentation on the continued growth of our community. She also talked about the Youth Apprenticeship program the chamber is supporting along with Trident Technical College, all 4 local school districts, and over 60 industry partners.

At the end of the very productive professional development day, several teachers names were drawn for prizes – one teacher won a dinner for two at The Charleston Grill and another won a trip to the ACTE Conference in New Orleans in November! Other teachers won tickets to Charleston Battery Soccer matches at MUSC Health Stadium on Daniel Island.

Special thanks to Mickey Bakst withThe Charleston Grill and Suzanne Brandon with the Charleston Battery for donating prizes for teachers attending the meeting!

All teachers left with a special gift: a special back-up battery for their phone!